'Sad reality': ACT parliament contracts armed guards as threats escalate

Violent threats levelled at the ACT's politicians are becoming more frequent and the escalation has prompted the Legislative Assembly to boost its security by contracting armed guards for the first time.

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Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the attack on Dr Haines was devastatingly sad but he was not surprised because abuse of politicians had only been building.

"It does feel elevated. Greater in volume, sharper and meaner, frankly, in tone. And I've copped homophobic abuse throughout my career but it's going beyond that now," Mr Barr told ABC radio on Tuesday.

The Legislative Assembly in Canberra's city centre, where armed guards have been contracted for the first time. Picture by James Croucher

Before the attack, the ACT Legislative Assembly had already decided to introduce private armed security guards, despite concerns raised by the ACT Greens and some staff.

Jeremy Hanson, the Assembly's Speaker, had said threats had been increasing and his priority was the collective safety of the members and staff who worked in the territory's parliament.

"A survey of MLAs last year showed, in my view, that far too many MLAs have been experiencing some form of threatening behaviour - that is unacceptable. This has included threats of physical violence, sexual violence and death threats, and we have just got to be aware of that," Mr Hanson told the Assembly late last month.

Armed guards have been contracted for the ACT's Assembly after a security audit last year found the territory's parliament needed greater protection.

"The sad reality is that the risk to us as a parliament as members has increased. I think there are two major components to this. One is the politically motivated violence. ... The other one is the fixated individuals," Mr Hanson told the Assembly last month.

Mr Hanson said his preference was for police to guard the ACT's parliament and had asked ACT Policing but was told a private contractor would be best placed to protect the ACT's parliament.

"If you have to respond to an armed intruder, you have to have the equipment to do that. I hope that never happens - I really do - but hope is not a strategy. We will plan for the worst and hope for the best, in a sense," he told budget estimates on July 30.

"If we do have an armed intruder from, for example, a fixated individual, and we know that the number of those threats are increasing - I know that some of our members, particularly the Minister for Police or the Minister for Mental Health and so on are particularly vulnerable - we want to make sure that if something happens, those security guards can respond."

Police Minister Marisa Paterson said the attack on Dr Haines was a dark day for Australia and the country could not shy away from the fact threats and violence were overwhelmingly directed at women.

"The heart of my job is standing out the front of the shops and talking to the community, and the fact that incidents like what happened last night starts to put that into question and starts to threaten that accessibility, which I think is fundamental to democracy in Australia," Dr Paterson told ABC radio.

The Greens' Laura Nuttall has said her party was concerned by the introduction of armed guards.

"The issue is not whether security should be strengthened. The issue is whether this particular measure is necessary, proportionate and supported by appropriate consultation," Ms Nuttall told the Assembly in September.

"The audit certainly recommended an uplift in our security workforce capabilities, but it did not recommend a security force equipped with firearms. In fact it suggested that despite any vulnerabilities, the Assembly's overall posture was and is appropriate to its context."

In 2025, ACT Greens deputy leader Andrew Braddock told an Assembly debate he had received violent threats after posting online to condemn anti-immigration rallies.

"That is why it is important for those here, as an Assembly, to stand up against the division and the hate that is going on in the community, and to be able to show that we, as the parliamentary leaders, as the community representatives, are standing against this fear, this hate and this division," Mr Braddock said in September 2025.

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